Some Chattanooga-area schools are placing an emphasis on helping the environment.
Several, including Girls Preparatory School and Red Bank High School, have started green-roof and recycling programs.
GPS has planted a green roof, also known as Bowman Terrace, which lowers the cost of energy. School officials have also installed a white roof which decreases the amount of cooling in the library.
In its cafeteria, GPS uses locally-grown food, recyclable food containers and real cups. Since the change to recyclable items, the GPS cafeteria has 3-4 garbage bags a day instead of the original 20, 55-gallon bags of garbage per day.
“Although we have always been concerned about the environmental, we became serious as a school about five years ago,” said Jessica Good, president of the GPS upper school. “We started by educating our girls through weekly [presentations] during assembly and then by putting them to work recycling every Tuesday during their advisory periods.
“Now, our whole campus shows the result of good stewardship, from green roofs to water conservation and everything in between,” she said.
Red Bank High School has also developed a green roof on one of its buildings.
“Green roofs on buildings can increase the energy efficiency, help reduce [water] runoff, and help to purify water and air,” said Lu Shan Webb, environmental science teacher.
Red Bank senior Taylor Raye Daniels said her school, and others, should do more to help the environment.
“Schools should have more recycle bins,” she said. “Helping out with the green roof at Red Bank High School is one more step to an environmentally friendly school, community and world.”
Her classmate, Alex Young, said schools still have a long way to go.
“I think Red Bank High School is doing better than some other schools, but still needs to improve greatly on helping the environment,” Alex said. “My interest has (grown) since the project of the green roof and recycling.”
Kalyn Helton is a student at Red Bank High School.